Pilot's tragic mistake before plane crash that killed Trump donor's adopted daughter and granddaughter

Daily Mail​

15-05-2025

The pilot of a private Cessna plane carrying a woman adopted by a Trump donor and her daughter failed to bring supplemental oxygen onto the aircraft - contributing to the 2023 crash that killed everyone on board.
The jet - which had performed a mysterious U-turn towards Washington DC - was flying to East Hampton carrying Adina Azarian, her two-year-old daughter Aria, their nanny and the pilot, Jeff Hefner when it crashed near Montebello, Virginia.
Adina Azarian was adopted at age 40 by a Trump donor couple - because she reminded them of a daughter they lost in a scuba diving accident in 1994.
They flew with such velocity that a sonic boom was heard over parts of DC and Virginia and prompted the military to scramble fighter jets.
At the time of the crash, aviation experts told DailyMail.com it was likely down to cabin pressure failure which will have caused the pilot - and everyone else - to pass out from a lack of oxygen.
The National Transportation Safety Board released a report Wednesday that claimed the oxygen problem was indeed likely caused by a loss of cabin pressure.
Investigators could not determine the exact reason for the pressure loss, but they noted that the Cessna Citation had a number of maintenance issues.
They included no pilot-side oxygen mask and supplemental oxygen at its minimum serviceable level.
'At that level, oxygen would not have been available to the airplane occupants and passenger oxygen masks would not have deployed in the event of a loss of pressurization,' according to the report.
It concluded that, 'Contributing to the accident was the pilot´s and owner/operator´s decision to operate the airplane without supplemental oxygen.'
The private plane took off at 1:13pm from Elizabethton Airport in Tennessee and was scheduled to land at MacArthur Airport in Islip, on Long Island.
The plane instead approached MacArthur but then turned around at 2:45pm and flew south again, alerting DC officials.
No one on board answered calls from the ground, prompting two F-16 fighter jets from Joint Base Andrews to rush to its side to investigate.
Once in the air, the F-16 pilots reported seeing the Cessna pilot slumped over in the cockpit. Within moments, the Cessna crashed, tumbling a terrifying 28,000ft-a-minute into St Mary's Wilderness, around 175 miles southwest of Washington DC.
Hefner stopped responding to air traffic control instructions within minutes of taking off.
The plane then plunged almost straight down in into a mountain near Montebello, Virginia, and burst into flames at 3:23 p.m.
Fighter pilots tasked with intercepting the wayward flight said Hefner 'was laying and slumped completely over into the right seat and remained motionless throughout their observations,' according to NTSB records.
They did not observe any movement within the cabin area nor any shapes that resembled a person.
Once Hefner lost consciousness, the plane likely was directed along its path by autopilot 'until a point at which it was no longer able to maintain control,' according to the report.
Lack of oxygen, called hypoxia, can affect people differently, but it is known to cause confusion, disorientation and diminished judgment and reactions, according to the report.
A pilot would likely have between 30 seconds and 2 minutes to take corrective action. That time could be less if the depressurization is rapid.
'However, gradual depressurization can be as dangerous or more dangerous than rapid depressurization because of its potential to insidiously impair a pilot´s ability to recognize and respond to the developing emergency,' according to the report.
'Cognitive impairment from hypoxia makes it harder for affected individuals to recognize their own impairment.'
The report noted that Hefner had several health issues and had been prescribed at least one medication that was potentially impairing but did not list those issues as contributing to the accident.
John Rumpel, the adoptive father of Azarian, told The Washington Post that she and his first daughter Victoria had 'the same fire in their bellies, and they were loving, caring children.'
Azarian was the adopted daughter of John and his wife Barbara, who owned the Cessna plane that crashed. They are notable donors to GOP causes and gave $250,000 to the Trump Victory PAC in 2020.
The jet was flying to East Hampton when it mysteriously U-turned, triggering the dispatch of military jets, and crashed.
The nanny was Evadnie Smith, according to The Sun, and Rumpel identified the pilot as Jeff Hefner.
Rumpel told the Post how his daughter Azarian had tried so hard to have a child before she fell pregnant with Aria, watching her go through a years-long in vitro fertilization process.
Other friends of Azarian described to The New York Post how she suffered miscarriages and failed rounds of IVF before finally giving birth to Aria.
'It would be fitting that they are together,' Azarian's childhood friend Tara Brivic-Looper told the outlet. 'I don't think they ever weren't together, so if Adina was going anywhere, Aria was always with her.'
'She went through everything as a single woman to have a baby, and I can't say since Aria's been born, I don't think I've seen her twice without her,' said Brivic-Looper, who attended the Dwight School in Manhattan with Azarian.
Hefner's previous employer, the head of a law firm where Hefner worked as a flight captain, told CNN the pilot is survived by his wife and three children.
He was described as 'a highly accomplished and skilled Aviator, he flew 25 years with as a Captain with Southwest Airlines and had over 25,000 flight hours,' attorney Dan Newlin told CNN in a statement.
John Rumpel told the Washington Post that a love for small planes was only meant to bring the family together.
He also said he had never had any issues with the Cessna Citation plane which he used last month to fly from his home in Florida to a second home in the mountains of North Carolina.
Rumpel said police told him the cabin may have lost pressurization, causing those inside, including the pilot, to lose consciousness.
Azarian was a successful real estate agent in New York City and the Hamptons.
She ran her own business for years but had recently found success at Keller Williams.
In an internal memo obtained by DailyMail.com, the company described her as 'iconic'.
'It is with heavy hearts and deep sorrow that we bring you the tragic news of the untimely passing of our dear colleague, Adina Azarian, and her daughter, Aria. We are devastated by this profound loss and wanted to reach out to inform you and express our deepest condolences,' the memo read.
'Adina was an exceptional member of our Keller Williams Points North team, as well as the original Team Leader of Keller Williams NYC, known for her dedication, professionalism, and warm spirit.
'Her vibrant personality and unwavering commitment to her clients set her apart in the real estate industry.
'Adina's passion for her work and her genuine care for others touched the lives of many, making her an invaluable asset to our team at Keller Williams Points North.